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The installed capacity of photovoltaic (PV) systems has recently increased at a much faster rate than the development of grid codes to effectively and efficiently manage high penetrations of PV within the distribution system. In a number of countries, PV penetrations in some regions are now raising growing concerns regarding integration. Management strategies vary considerably by country-some still have an approach that PV systems should behave as passive as possible, whereas others demand an active participation in grid control. This variety of grid codes also causes challenges in learning from "best practice." This paper provides a review of current grid codes in some countries with high PV penetrations. In addition, the paper presents a number of country-specific case studies on different approaches for improved integration of PV systems in the distribution grid. In particular, we consider integration approaches using active and reactive power control that can reduce or defer expensive grid reinforcement while supporting higher PV penetrations

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a broader analysis of high-penetration PV circuits than otherwise would have been possible. Thanks are due to Southern California Edison (SCE) for their long-term support of the project and for providing circuit models, operational data, and access to real-world sets of distribution systems on which the findings of the project are summarized in this handbook. The information included in this handbook, and the general scope of the handbook, was steered and edited by a select number of distribution engineering experts formally organized into the Distribution Energineering Review Committee (DERC).

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The U.S. Department of Energy launched the SunShot Initiative in 2011 with the goal of making solar electricity cost-competitive with conventionally generated electricity by 2020. At the time this meant reducing photovoltaic and concentrating solar power prices by approximately 75%relative to 2010 costs-across the residential, commercial, and utility-scale sectors. To examine the implications of this ambitious goal, the Department of Energy's Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) published the SunShot Vision Study in 2012. The study projected that achieving the SunShot price-reduction targets could result in solar meeting roughly 14% of U.S. electricity demand by 2030 and 27% by 2050-while reducing fossil fuel use, cutting emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants, creating solar-related jobs, and lowering consumer electricity bills. The SunShot Vision Study also acknowledged, however, that realizing the solar price and deployment targets would face a number of challenges. Both evolutionary and revolutionary technological changes would be required to hit the cost targets, as well as the capacity to manufacture these improved technologies at scale in the U.S. Additionally, operating the U.S. transmission and distribution grids with increasing quantities of solar energy would require advances in grid-integration technologies and techniques. Serious consideration would also have to be given to solar siting, regulation, and water use. Finally, substantial new financial resources and strategies would need to be directed toward solar deployment of this magnitude in a relatively short period of time. Still the study suggested that the resources required to overcome these challenges were well within the capabilities of the public and private sectors. SunShot-level price reductions, the study concluded, could accelerate the evolution toward a cleaner, more costeffective and more secure U.S. energy system. That was the assessment in 2012. Today, at the halfway mark to the SunShot Initiative's 2020 target date, it is a good time to take stock: How much progress has been made? What have we learned? What barriers and opportunities must still be addressed to ensure that solar technologies achieve cost parity in 2020 and realize their full potential in the decades beyond? To answer these questions, SETO launched the On the Path to SunShot series in early 2015 in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and with contributions from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The series of technical reports focuses on the areas of grid integration, technology improvements, finance and policy evolution, and environment impacts and benefits. The resulting reports examine key topics that must be addressed to achieve the SunShot Initiative's price-reduction and deployment goals. The On the Path to SunShot series includes the following reports: • Emerging Issues and Challenges with Integrating High Levels of Solar into the ...

Abstract:Under the increasing penetration of distributed energy resources and new smart network technologies, distribution utilities face new challenges and opportunities to ensure reliable operations, manage service quality, and reduce operational and investment costs. Simultaneously, the research community is developing algorithms for advanced controls and distribution automation that can help to address some of these challenges. However, there is a shortage of realistic test systems that are publically available for development, testing, and evaluation of such new algorithms. Concerns around revealing critical infrastructure details and customer privacy have severely limited the number of actual networks published and that are available for testing. In recent decades, several distribution test feeders and US-featured representative networks have been published, but the scale, complexity, and control data vary widely. This paper presents a first-of-a-kind structured literature review of published distribution test networks with a special emphasis on classifying their main characteristics and identifying the types of studies for which they have been used. This both aids researchers in choosing suitable test networks for their needs and highlights the opportunities and directions for further test system development. In particular, we highlight the need for building large-scale synthetic networks to overcome the identified drawbacks of current distribution test feeders.